Haviland Hollow

by Ed Scrivani

Patterson, N.Y. was originally named Franklin when organized in 1795. The name was changed in 1808 to Patterson because several
towns in the state had the name Franklin and confusion was rampant.

Patterson was made up of many small areas such as Four Corners (now Towners), Hinckley Pond (now Ice Pond), Haviland Hollow, and
Patterson Village, which was sometimes called Patterson City.

One of the areas which has had much written about it is Haviland Hollow which was settled in 1731 by Jacob Haviland. The Havilands
were Quakers from Massachusetts.

The Hollow, like many other areas, had its own Post Office, school and stores. From farming of the most primitive type, living became
easier. Grain and cattle were raised, later sheep and large quantities of potatoes and fruit.

In 1934, Mrs. Minnie Barnum Durga wrote about the saw mill and
grist mill on Quaker Brook and said she remembered standing and looking at the huge stones
revolving and crushing the grain when she went to the district school between 1865 and 1875. The last of the milling was done about 1918
by Charles Bolton, son of John Platt Bouton.

Mrs. Ann Elise Haviland's reminiscences of the "Old School", the first in Haviland Hollow, goes
back to the period of 1840, one year after the school opened. She also remembers the school known as the Academy which was on Clayhole
Hill, now Brimstone Road. Mrs. Haviland had many memories of her many trips to and from school. "Imagine," she said, "a bright morning
in May, when trees and fields have on their new coats of green, flowers are blooming and we are breathing their perfume. The birds in
joyous song make our joy more complete. If we see God's hand in all this, then we in accord with it all, and while nature is praising God,
so are we, and we go happily on our way, filled to the brine with delight."

Another place which meant so much to the life of Haviland Hollow was the Methodist-Episcopal C. M. E. Church which was dedicated in 1868.
Mrs. James C. Gerow wrote, "Not until 1870 did I come into fellowship with the Hollow people. The Rev. Marvin R. Lent was then pastor of
the New Fairfield and Hollow churches. Every Sunday afternoon the Hollow Church was filled to capacity. We were both members of the
choir. I frequently played the Melodin."

In 1928 Mrs. Minnie Barnum Durga wrote in The Putnam County Courier, "what has been the meaning of this little church in
Haviland Hollow? Surely more love to God and to man, it has meant an awakening to, and a closer following of the true principals of
Christianity. Nothing can mean more than, this. So it has been God's great blessing."

Both, the church and parsonage still stand today, but have been remodeled to residences.

The second photo shows another view of the Methodist-Episcopal Church at Cowl's Corners. The third photo show the church
parsonage. Cowl's Corners was located approximately at the intersection of Haviland Hollow Road and East Branch Road. It took
its name from the homestead of Benjamin Cowl.

The September 10, 1897 edition of the Putnam County Courier mentions an English tea party held at the church, with about
100 attendees. $50 was raised for winter preparations.

The Warren Wood house and barn on Haviland Hollow Road, east of Brimstone Road. The old
Haviland Hollow Road can be seen on the left. The house on the left remains, but the one on the right was demolished to make way
for the new Haviland Hollow Road, built in 1929.

Two views of the Benjamin Haviland homestead. This was the first house in Putnam County, located
at Haviland Hollow Road and Brimstone Road. The first photo shows the west end; the second shows the east end. Benjamin
Haviland was born in 1808 and made his living as a farmer. He was also appointed a Town assessor in 1795, and later served as a
Justice of the Peace for 20 years.

The George Barnum home, located on Haviland Hollow Road. It is the first driveway
on the right when traveling west from Connecticut Route 37. The house still stands. George and
Susan Barnum moved here in 1856 and lived here until they died. George died in 1882, Susan in 1917.

The Platt Bouton house, which was located on the old
Haviland Hollow Road near the Bouton mill pond that
serviced the Bouton mill. The mill was located near the present
Brimstone Road. The house was destroyed in 1929 to make way for the new Haviland Hollow Road.

(all photos - Ed Scrivani)

The following information was provided by Christopher Sirmons Haviland. More information on the
Haviland and de Havilland families can be found on The Haviland & de Havilland Genealogical Organizationwebsite.

I'd like to correct a statement: "The Havilands were Quakers from Massachusetts." In fact these Havilands were from New York, all descended from William Haviland who settled the area of Great Neck and Flushing on Long Island.

William emigrated to America from England probably between 1641 (the death of his mother) and 1646 (when he is recorded as a Church Warden in Newport, R.I.). He is later recorded as a freeman of Newport, Rhode Island, in 1653. (There is a record of an "Act and Order of the General Assembly at Newport, May 17, 1653. 'Freemen received of Newport: Benedict Arnold,...' - eventually became governor - '...Joseph Torry,...' - a distant cousin of the Havilands - '...William Haviland, and Jonathan Mott'" ). On 21 May 1656 he is listed as a commissioner to the General Court at Portsmouth, R.I., from Newport. After his marriage to Hannah Hicks, he moved to Long Island, ca. 1667 when records show he purchased 100 acres of land from his brother-in-law, Thomas Hicks, on what is now Little Neck, (then called "Cornbury"). On 24 Mar 1685 he signed the renewal-charter of the Patent of Flushing, as did his wife's brother Thomas Hicks.

William's son Jacob also lived in Flushing originally (ca 1661-1710) but immigrated to Rye where he is mentioned as a Warden of Grace Church there in 1715, 1716 and 1724, and had 200 acres in Harrison's Purchase. Jacob's son Jacob, who married Sarah Green, was apparently the first to settle Haviland Hollow, buying land from Adam Ireland, John Thomas and Benjamin Birdsall in 1731.

William Haviland's ancestor was Thomas, Seiur de Haveilland, a Jurat of Guernsey in 1470, the earliest known common ancestry of the family, from whom also descend actresses Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine, Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (founder of de Havilland aircraft), the makers of Haviland China, Willis Haviland Carrier (the inventor of air conditioning), and many other interesting people. The "Guernsey-English" family, who apparently came from Neustria in the Dark Ages, is the biggest bearing the name, according to DNA evidence. There are one or two separate families bearing the name of Havilands that can trace back to Boston which DNA evidence is showing to be unrelated families that came from Ireland and North Ireland, with an original spelling of Havlin. These were not the Quakers who settled Haviland Hollow.

So in short it would be more accurate to say, "The Havilands were Quakers from Long Island."

Christopher Sirmons Haviland
The Haviland Genealogical Organization
Genealogy, Heraldry, History and Research on the
Haviland Family Surname
and Descendants of
Thomas, Sieur de Haveilland, Jurat of Guernsey (1470)http://havilands.org